Military

BAE Systems successfully tests artillery shell with double the range

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The Sub-Caliber projectile being fired
BAE Systems
Sub-Caliber infographic
BAE Systems
The Sub-Caliber projectile being fired
BAE Systems

BAE Systems and the US Army have successfully test fired a Sub-Caliber Artillery Long-Range Projectile with Enhanced Lethality from a 155 mm XM907E2 cannon at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico with double the range of current precision guided munitions.

The recent test, which was the latest for the US Army's XM1155 sub-caliber program, is particularly pertinent because of the arms buying spree sparked by NATO countries sending arms to Ukraine to battle the Russian invasion now in its second year. The US arsenal has been virtually stripped of 155 mm artillery shells and the US Department of Defense has ordered production of these munitions to sextuple over the next five years.

This has produced a situation where the US military has a powerful incentive to not only buy more 155 mm shells, but to buy the most technologically advanced version.

The Sub-Caliber Artillery Long-Range Projectile is designed to strike targets at long range with extremely high precision using a standard 155 mm gun. It can hit both stationary and moving targets at ranges of well over 68 miles (110 km), greater than the range of its predecessor. The ultimate objective of the shell is to achieve one-shot, one-kill. In other words, an artillery unit would be able to fire a round with a high degree of probability of destroying their target and immediately leave the area before a counterattack.

Sub-Caliber infographic
BAE Systems

The details of the new projectile haven't been released, though we do know that it's a sabot round. That is, the projectile is sealed in a canister that strips away when it leaves the gun muzzle, revealing the aerodynamic projectile. In flight, the projectile deploys fins and wings and a motor (a rocket or a ramjet) to provide additional speed and range.

Inside, there is an avionics package to guide the projectile to its target and electronic countermeasures to fend off hostile jamming. This is particularly impressive engineering because these electronics must withstand a shock of 15,500 gs when fired from the gun.

"This successful test confirms our Sub-Caliber Artillery Long-Range Projectile with Enhanced Lethality can defeat long-range targets and advance to follow-on testing out to double the range of existing guided projectile (sic) and with sensors to find fixed and moving targets of interest," said Brent Butcher, vice president and general manager of Weapon Systems at BAE Systems. "We are confident that the projectile is on track to provide the Army the best munitions solution for cannon artillery with a leap ahead capability that will bring a highly lethal, maneuverable projectile to soldiers on the battlefield."

Source: BAE Systems

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11 comments
Joy Parr
The expression 'game changer' is much overused; this looks like the real thing.
J
I was in a 155mm howitzer battery in 'Nam and the range of a charge 7 HE round was 9 miles, II miles when shooting illumination rounds, and were highly accurate for the day. 175mm guns at the time had a range of, I think, of 23 miles but the accuracy was within, according to the scuttlebutt, one grid square so not the best in that department. To say that this round, if it works as advertised, is a major improvement is a massive understatement.
oldpistachio
I just can't think of a real-world situation where this could be tested immediately, and at the same time benefit an ally of the USA.
guzmanchinky
oldpistachio that's great! Yes, send them over there now!
Mark Markarian
Big Bertha hit Paris from 75 miles away in WW1. though it's target was a city and not one shot, one kill.
J
According to the interweb Big Bertha had a range of maybe 9 miles, depending on which article your read. The Gustav and the Dora would reach about 24 miles about the same range as the 16" naval guns used on the big battleships in WWII.
Iain Butcher
Good name ?
SCALPEL .
Nobody
This story seems a little off base. When I was in an artillery unit, our 8 inch guns only had a range of about 23 miles with a standard round and only a bout 11 miles with a nuclear simulator round. For this gun to have a range of 34 miles that got doubled to 68 miles seems like a stretch. Hitting a moving target at that range seems like even more of a stretch. I hope they can do it it but it sounds like hype.
niio
This is really a cannon launched missile. Rocket propulsion, guidance avionics and fins is exactly what is hanging off fighter jet wings.
retired engineer
Would this possibly reactivate the deck guns of the Zumwalt class ships?